Gala concert to raise funds for music scholarships

A night of music, induction of a distinguished alumnus and contributing to student scholarships are all part of the 2012 Annual Gala Music Benefit Concert on Sept. 8 at Emporia State University.

The spotlight will be on Dr. Frank Sidorfsky, the featured artist for the concert. A clarinetist, Sidorfsky will perform on the basset horn, a rare, tenor-voiced member of the clarinet family. Emporia State music faculty planning to perform are Andrea Garritano, Susan Mayo and Drs. Dawn McConkie, Catherine Bergman, Jeremy Starr and James Starr.

During intermission of the concert, Sidorfsky will be inducted into the Beach Hall of Distinction at Emporia State

Sidorfsky earned his bachelor of music education degree from Emporia State before earning master’s and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He spent four years in Navy Music and has taught in the Flint, Mich., public schools, at James Madison University and at Kansas State University for 34 years until he retired in 1999.

His clarinet background includes private study with Leopold Liegl, formerly with the Minneapolis Symphony, Anthony Gigliotti, formerly solo clarinetist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Robert Marcellus, formerly solo clarinetist with the Cleveland Orchestra, and Stanley Hasty at the Eastman School of Music. Sidorfsky has played with the Pensacola Symphony, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Flint Symphony, L’Ecole Monteux Symphony Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, the Sunflower Music Festival, and has performed at festivals such as the Oklahoma University Clarinet Symposium and the International Clarinet Convention. He is currently bass clarinetist with the Topeka Symphony. For 24 years Sidorfsky has been on the faculty at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, as a flute, clarinet, and saxophone teacher and performer.

A silent auction from 7 to 7:45 p.m. in the Shepherd Music Center of Beach Hall will precede the 8 p.m. concert in Heath Recital Hall.

Funds raised from the concert go toward music scholarships at the university. This year’s organizers are hoping to raise at least $25,000. Since 2009, the music department has been able to fully endow both the James Starr String Scholarship and the Jeffrey Hodapp Low Brass Scholarship, as well as provide dozens of awards for talented students each year.

Tickets to the concert cost $25, but donations above that amount are also welcome. Any donations made by Aug. 31 will be recognized in the printed program for the event. Tickets ordered after Aug. 31 will be held at the door.

To order tickets or pledge a sponsorship, go online to galabenefit.emporia.edu, or stop in the Department of Music office, Beach Hall 105, during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Emporia State University is a dynamic and progressive student-centered learning community that fosters student success through engagement in academic excellence, community and global involvement, and the pursuit of personal and professional fulfillment.